Erik Wøllo - Crossing the Equator (2024) [Hi-Res]

The shimmering textures and sparkling patterns on these eight immersive, buoyant dream-fragments began with electric guitar improvisations Erik Wøllo looped in his living room in Norway, utilizing a style first heard on his 2022 INVERSIONS EP. Following the spontaneous and intimate beginnings, Wøllo expands the horizons by seamlessly adding speckles of synthesizers and sequenced rhythmic elements to the sonic excursion built upon his guitar and looping pedal compositions. This minimal album is characterized by simplicity and clarity across the forty-five minutes of emotionally engaging ambient pieces.

These tracks invite listeners into a realm where innovation meets passion. Unfolding like a musical narrative, the evolving harmonies and melodic motifs captivate the senses. The interplay between the various guitars and synthesizers creates a harmonious dialogue, engaging from start to finish.

Erik says, “I began all of these tracks just recording some simple loops in my living rooms and even in my kitchen! I have all sorts of pedals available, and I’m ready to push the record button at any time. This is a nice way to capture unexpected starting points for compositions. The best ideas often arrive in the middle of doing something else. A casual and accessible approach to the creative process contributes to the album's diverse and eclectic nature with the potential for interesting sonic textures and atmospheric elements lending an organic and evolving quality.”

The album title carries different meanings in both a phonic and poetic context. The equator is often seen as a dividing line between different hemispheres. The title might indicate a crossing from one musical hemisphere to another, or perhaps it represents a metaphorical line between the known and unknown, the familiar and the unfamiliar.

CROSSING THE EQUATOR mixes restrained passages and occasional rhythmic zones. Its ambient minimalism and transfixing gentle atmospheres flow within metamorphosizing textures created out of spontaneous and beautiful real-time performances.

The album's electronic whispers and electric guitar reverberations become the map and the landscapes. Ethereal realms invite listeners to journey within, exploring the uncharted territories of emotion and thought.